Tokyo-based bitFlyer, the operator of the world’s largest bitcoin exchange, announced on Monday (January 22) its launch into Europe. After being granted a Payment Institution (PI) license to operate in the European Union, bitFlyer has become the first bitcoin exchange to be regulated in Japan, the US and Europe, making it the most compliant virtual currency exchange in the world. The license was granted to the exchange by the Luxembourg-based regulator Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF). bitFlyer, which entered the US market compliantly as of fall 2017, already operates in Japan under a license granted by the Financial Services Agency (FSA).

“I am proud that we are now the most compliant virtual currency exchange in the world,” Yuzo Kano, the founder and CEO of bitFlyer, said in the press release. “This coveted regulatory status gives our customers, our company and the virtual currency industry as a whole a very positive future outlook.” While the company will initially offer only a BTC/EUR pair in the EU, other virtual currencies like Litecoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, and Bitcoin Cash will be added to the bitFlyer Europe platform later this year. Countries all over the world have been struggling to decide how to regulate cryptocurrencies, from several US states introducing licenses to operate within regulatory framework, to China closing all of its crypto exchanges. Japan is one of the few countries to officially recognize bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies as money, a move that has allowed major Japanese banks to be comfortable investing a large amount of money into bitFlyer.